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Does anyone know of any disabled pro gamers? Let me first say that I am a quad amputee and an aspiring competitive Starcraft 2 player. I have been a student of iNcontroL's for a good while now and although I see my future career being in health policy, I have made it my goal to play competitively at a tournament level in Starcraft 2. I have a long road ahead of me to reach that goal but that isn't really what this thread is about. I am curious about other disabled pro gamers or aspiring pro gamers. I know of NOM4D but I have never head of anyone else. Some help here would be greatly appreciated guys!
There are two reasons why I ask. First, because i am disabled and an aspiring competitive gamer I am curious. Second, I am a graduating senior from Carleton College in Minnesota (http://www.carleton.edu/) and I am considering applying for a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship (http://www.watsonfellowship.org/site/index.html).
The idea of the Watson Fellowship is to have a year long adventure to further an interest you are passionate about by studying it cross-culturally and experientially. Instead of sitting in a library and doing research or taking classes, the Watson is a fellowship for those who have a need to see, interact with, and experience the world around them and the people who live in that world. As an example, one student from my school received a Watson in 2008 (Sean is actually a close friend of mine. He and a mutual friend of our and I spent time in China this last year studying health care delivery and how it relates to disability in China this past Winter. ![[image loading]](http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/Matthew_Fink/12161_526659777612_19100550_31186800_356410_n.jpg) [This is a picture of myself, Sean, our friend Zach, my father,and another good friend standing in front of our home base in Beijing, the University of International Business and Economics.]) to train as a competitive cyclist with several different Olympic and national teams all over the world. He used these experiences to learn about what competitiveness in a major sport meant in all of these different cultures. The Watson is not an academic research program and no written work or evaluated material is expected. The purpose is to have an adventure in something your passionate about. You have to know it in your mind but more importantly you have to have it in your heart and feel it in your gut on a visceral level.
If there exist disabled pro gamers, perhaps my Watson could be an adventure into pro gaming. I could, perhaps, train with Starcraft 2 players and teams in Europe and Asia, and connect with disabled pro gamers (if the exist), learn about how culture affects what it means to be a person with a disability who competes at a high level in a sport in various cultures in the digital and global age, and prepare for an attempt to qualify for a GSL myself. I want to be the best I can be in everything I do and I don't give up until I'm there. I thought perhaps it might even be a way for me to indirectly catch a glimpse of how disability is viewed in general and how technology is changing that. Starcraft 2 and the way it bringing pro gaming out of Korea and the process it is going through right now as a new game with its competitive scene in its infancy but growing and spreading like wildfire would seem to create a very unique opportunity.
This truly is the greatest community in the world and I am counting on you guys to help me out. Are there disabled pro gamers/game developers/etc...? Do you guys have any other ideas about how I could use a Watson on pro gaming to study disability in different cultures? I could really use some help brainstorming. This is near and dear to my heart in so many ways and I am desperately hoping that TeamLiquid can help me out...
Matt
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Sorry for the slightly offtopic response, but... how do you play?
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Hey! i know of no disabled progamers, also i had to google quad amputee just to make sure i knew what it was (english not first language). I'm very curious as to how you play and how much of a disadvantage it gets you. What's your league/rating ?
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The only thing that comes to mind to me, was years upon years ago in the Broodwar scene there was a Blind player. He ended up going up against boxer, I'm sure someone will come along with the link.
Though you'd have to be more specific than just "disabled" because that could also be on the mental side of things, which could add a few people I'm sure.
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what a sick joke
User was temp banned for this post.
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space is the MAN.... i wish with all my heart that he recovers... he is an incredible wc3 player and person to be able to fight past his illness... cant even use control groups because he cant move his fingers the distance  SPACE FIGHTING
HUGE respect for all disabled gamers, this goes to you looknohands119!
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There are none that I know of, but there is a first time for everything. You can rest assured that, while I don't speak for this site, I imagine I am not alone in wishing you all the luck and support this community can provide.
Rock on, gar man.
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Wow! Its been like 10 minutes and just wow.... I can't believe the number of responses this has already gotten. mcJ, Ryan, I've never heard of Space before but after taking a look at that interview man is he inspiring... Thank you SO much for posting that interview! I will post pics of myself using a mouse and try and get video of my playing up tonight. dream, when i say disabled I definitely mean both physically disabled (missing limbs, deafness, blindness, paralysis, etc...), developmental disabilities, learning disabilities. All of the above!
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Wow, I must say I'm really intrigued by your aspirations. That's really awesome that you're not letting your disability get in the way of something you love. I'm interested in learning more about your play, I'm sure you'll be impressing a lot of us here, considering such a situation is difficult for most of us to even fathom. Much respect, sir.
edit: oh and, your TL ID made me smile, haha. =)
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yeah, this guy is a key example of taking advantage of being in an unfortunate position and not letting it slow him down at all... kudos to you
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this guy is the essence of TL.
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to be honest I'm curious how you use the peripheries
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On September 23 2010 22:15 Dagobert wrote:
Sorry for the slightly offtopic response, but... how do you play?
User was warned for this post
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Austin10831 Posts
Thanks for sharing your story man, it's pretty amazing. A good resource, if you haven't already been there, might be AbleGamers (http://www.ablegamers.com for the community site, http://www.ablegamers.org for the foundation). You might find people there with more experience in this kind of thing, as well as information on more high-profile disabled gamers.
Have you talked to anyone at your school about being nominated for the fellowship? The only condition for proposals seems to be that they are, "creative, feasible and personally significant." It's certainly creative and personally significant, but you'd have to probably spend some time planning out the logistics of such an undertaking before you applied. Please keep us updated on this, it's a fascinating story and I'm sure many people here are willing and able to help you out.
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EDIT: Disregard, idiot etc won't happen again.
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On September 23 2010 23:01 OPSavioR wrote:Show nested quote +On September 23 2010 22:15 Dagobert wrote:
Sorry for the slightly offtopic response, but... how do you play?
He said he's going to post pics later tonight.
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Nom4d and Space are the only players I've known who had disabilities and managed to get into the professional scene.
As for your condiction...I would recommend you type out how you are currently playing so it gives people a idea on ways we could help you better your play.
Nom4d used a modified Xbox controller that he played with his face. Space had his hands so no ideas can really stream from that end.
For you its mainly finding a way to modify equipment or methods to press keys accurately and quickly. Looking into things like nerve endings controlling a robotic hand (as is done now with amputees) is probably something you can do.
As far as the Watson award is concerned, I would say to stray away from the gaming as the main focus. Due to the limitations you have, going for the Watson to look into Amputee technology (aka the robotic arm/hand and etc) and the like might benefit you more. It benefits you not just in gaming, but in your life.
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Space is the only one I can think of myself like others have mentioned. He was surely one of the best UD's in wc3 I know off and had quite a high level of micro.
Other than that I think there aren't many disabled pro gamers I can think off. Atleast it isn't impossible to become pro so I wish you all of luck to achieve your dreams whether it's outside or with gaming.
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EPT
